Woot! Two chapters in one day! I hope this doesn't tick off the fans I have over in The Mummy fan fic! I'll get working on updating that story soon, but for now, here's chapter 1 of the story!

Chapter 1 What's My Name?

Doogie stood in front of the mirror, combing his hair. As he was doing this, he heard a thump by his computer and whirled around to face Vinnie Delpino, who had just jumped through the window of the bedroom. "Doog, man, is she here yet?"

Doogie made a face at his best friend. "Vinnie! Vinnie, why are you here?"

"I want to meet her!" Vinnie said. "Is she hot?"

Doogie rolled his eyes. "Vinnie, give it a rest. She's only fifteen years old, she's a little young for you."

"Doog! Doog, man, fifteen is perfect! She wouldn't dare give up the chance to date an older man!" Vinnie fluffed his hair a little. "No woman can resist this. Huh? Huh?" he said, giving Doogie a fake smile and pointing at his face with both index fingers.

"Vinnie, stop," Doogie said, moving away from the mirror. He sat in his desk chair and faced his friend. "I think you should just let her alone. Vinnie, her mother just died. I don't think she really wants you all over her."

Vinnie's face fell for a second, but then he smiled again. "So, she needs somebody to mend her broken heart! Why can't that person be me?"

Doogie sighed. Sometimes he just couldn't understand his friend.

"Douglas! Douglas?" a voice came from outside the door.

"Yeah, Dad," Doogie said. "Come on in."

"Douglas—Vincent. Vincent, when did you get here?"

"Uh--"

"He's getting ready to leave, aren't you, Vinnie?" Doogie asked.

"Oh, no, no, you should stay, Vincent," David Howser said. "Alexa ought to meet your friends, Douglas. Anyway, I just came up here to tell you that they're pulling into the drive right now. Why don't we go downstairs and meet them?"

Doogie nodded, and he and Vinnie followed Dr. Howser.

They ended up in the kitchen as the door opened. Mrs. Howser entered, a suitcase in each hand. "Come on in, Lex, they're here to meet you." She stepped aside.

Lex Aidan stepped slowly into the kitchen. Her long blond curls were flowing messily around her face. She was looking at the ground as she placed the suitcase she was carrying on the floor, and then finally looked up.

"Alexa! Welcome!" Dr. Howser said warmly, moving towards her. He held his arms out to her.

"Uncle David," she said softly as she hugged him. "Thank you."

"Lex," Doogie said, moving towards her. He hadn't seen his cousin in almost a year, and he was surprised at how much she had grown up. When he had been talking to Vinnie earlier, her fifteen years had seemed young compared to his and Vinnie's sixteen-almost-seventeen, but now she didn't seem so young, by the way she looked. He moved forward and hugged her as well. "Welcome home, Lex," he said to her.

"Thanks, Doogie," Lex told her cousin as the two pulled back. "And who's this?"

"This is my friend, Vinnie," Doogie said, pointing to his friend. "Vinnie?"

Vinnie had a strange look on his face as he stared at Lex.

"Vinnie?" Doogie asked. "Vinnie, this is my cousin, Lex."

"Uh, yeah, right. Sex. Uh—uh, I mean Lex. Yeah. Um, I'm Dinnie Velpino. I mean, I'm Pinnie Delvino. I mean, uh…" Vinnie trailed off and leaned over to Doogie. "Doog, what's my name?"

"You're Vinnie!" Doogie hissed back to his best friend, trying hard not to laugh.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, that's right! I'm Vinnie!"

"Lex," Lex said, extending her hand and smiling a little.

Vinnie smiled like an idiot as he shook Lex's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said as he looked down into her eyes. He continued shaking her hand.

"Uh, yeah, you too," Lex said. "Can I have my hand back, please?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Vinnie said, snapping his hand back to his side, then combing his fingers through his dark hair nervously.

"Alexa, why don't we get you settled in?" asked Dr. Howser.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Mrs. Howser agreed. "Your room is upstairs; why don't we take you up and show you?"

Lex nodded in agreement, and she and Doogie's parents left the kitchen. Doogie was about to follow when Vinnie grabbed Doogie's arm. "Doog. Doog. Man, she's hot!" he said. "And best of all, she's shorter than me!"

Doogie sighed and turned to face Vinnie. "Vinnie, I mean it. Let her alone. She's got enough problems without you being all over her."

"Fine. I'll let her alone for now. But later… you'll fix me up with her, won't you?"

"Vinnie," groaned Doogie, grabbing Vinnie's shoulder and chuckling. "Let's just concentrate on now. Come on, let's go upstairs and help her unpack."

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Vinnie stayed for dinner. It was an uneventful meal, with Dr. and Mrs. Howser trying to involve Lex in conversation. She didn't have much to say; she'd answered questions aimed at her, politely, but that was it. Afterwards, Vinnie left for home, and Mrs. Howser told Lex that she should go and rest and get ready for school the next day, when she would begin attending the high school that Vinnie went to.

Doogie offered to help his mother with cleaning up while Dr. Howser went to his office to retrieve some paperwork he had forgotten. As he dried dishes, he asked his mother about Lex.

"She seems so… I don't know. Withdrawn," Doogie said.

Mrs. Howser nodded as she immersed a salad bowl into the hot water in the sink. "She is. She's taking her mother's death very hard. Though she will never admit it to anybody."

"Why not?" Doogie asked. "If she would just talk about it, there are so many people out there that can help!"

Mrs. Howser sighed. "I don't know." She shook her head and turned her head away from her son. But…" Mrs. Howser drew in a breath, then said, "At least I've grieved. Lex hasn't. The housekeeper that was staying with Lex until I arrived a few days ago says that Lex has not cried about this. At all."

Doogie shook his head and looked down. "That's unhealthy. I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, but I can tell you that it's not!"

"I know. And that's what worries me," said Mrs. Howser.

Doogie exhaled and pursed his lips.

Mrs. Howser shook her hands over the sink, sending water droplets sailing. Then she brushed a hand over her eyes. "I lost my sister. I can't loose my niece, too."

Doogie put the dish he was drying on the drying rack and moved to his mother, wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay, Mom. We won't lose her. Not while she's in this house. We'll be there for her. We'll be her support. We're all grieving over Aunt Beth's sudden death, too. So we've got something more in common with her than that housekeeper."

Mrs. Howser pulled back from Doogie. "You're right," she said swiping at her eyes. She nodded vigorously, not so much for Doogie's benefit, but for her own, as she was trying to convince herself of that. "You're right."

"We'll make her feel welcome, and we'll make her feel loved, and we'll make her feel wanted," Doogie said. "It won't be that hard, since she is completely welcome here, and she is completely loved here, and she is completely wanted here."

"Yes." Mrs. Howser went back to washing a dinner plate, then stopped and looked back up at Doogie again. "Doogie? Can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything, Mom," Doogie said with a smile.

"Well, I—I do want Lex to feel at home here. And I want her to feel liked by the kids at school. So, well, I was wondering… do you think maybe you could get Wanda, and maybe Vinnie, to, well, 'hang out' with Lex at school tomorrow?" she asked, speaking of Doogie's best friend and his girlfriend.

"Mom," said Doogie, shaking his head. "I'm sure Wanda will have no problem with that, and for that matter, neither will Vinnie. But I'm not so sure you want Vinnie around Lex right now… he sort of has other ideas for her, if you know what I mean."

"Dear, I think Lex can stand her ground against Vinnie. She just needs somebody to show her around, until she can make her own friends. Please, Doogie, this is important to me."

Doogie laughed. "Okay, Mom, whatever you say. But don't be surprised if Vinnie comes over next week and asks you for her hand in marriage."

Mrs. Howser laughed, too. "Okay." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Thanks, Doogie," she whispered. "This means a lot."

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